Elizabeth Olson closes her eyes. “I can’t look at the screen. I’m sorry. “The reason for the actor’s horror is not, as you might think, my face, but her own. This is the middle of our interview and I turned off my laptop camera to avoid internet problems, leaving Olson alone. She spends the rest of the conversation with her eyes modestly to the right. “We had to connect in person,” she says.
This is not the behavior you would expect from a decent Hollywood star in Marvel movies – and one that comes from an acting dynasty. Her siblings are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson, movie and fashion stars. Elizabeth’s younger sister has been playing since she was four, but did not appear in her first film until she was 21. Instead of following in the twins’ footsteps, she has been swinging between smaller indie films and blockbusters, including Gareth Edward’s Godzilla (2014) and several Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films.
Each role is very different from the last – an energetic drama student in the cozy comedy Liberal Arts (2012), a narcissistic social media influencer in the 2017 Instagram satire Ingrid Goes West and a timid rookie FBI agent in the mystery of the brutal murder of Wind River in the same year.
But it was because of her character in the Marvel universe that she became most famous. She played the eternally unfortunate witch Wanda Maximoff in the sequel to The Age of Ultron Avengers in 2015, before returning to three more MCU films – Captain America: Civil War; Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Wanda then became so popular that she was given her own television show, WandaVision.
In nine ingenious episodes, Olsen became a Marvel favorite thanks to his ability to smoothly switch from comedy to emotion with a single swipe. She shows this in our conversation, discussing sensitive topics, including the attitude of the media towards her sisters, while reacting playfully to the stubborn postman who keeps knocking on my door. “See you!” She shouted after he told me through my mailbox that he was leaving my package on the doorstep.
It helped Olson’s cause that WandaVision, Marvel’s debut raid on television, was an ambitious project that put time and care into a character who had previously been given a short hand in favor of the dominant figures – well, big strong men – Iron Man. , Captain America and Thor.
But although she is now a major Marvel player, the 33-year-old says she has been confused by her growing popularity “over the past few years”.
“I only signed up for a few films, so it’s still a surprise when they want to use me for more projects,” she says, adding: “I was confused by the luck that I had them want to do WandaVision.”
Olson was living in Richmond, Virginia, when the show launched in January 2021, during the second blockade. It has become one of Marvel’s best-reviewed projects of all time, and the word-of-mouth hysteria surrounding the series has led to the series’ achievement attracting both fans and fans. However, Olson says she is “completely detached” from the madness she caused and “not emotionally attached to her.”
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I don’t like to present at awards. I tried and I don’t like it
Elizabeth Olson
Olson returns as a character in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, who confronts her with the superpower wizard Benedict Cumberbatch. Although she praises the joint filming process, an approach preferred by director Sam Raimi, Olsen has repeatedly hinted in our conversation that she is not very happy to discuss the project, even though it is the one she is here to promote.
“I try to ignore it and not talk about it, but that’s exactly what’s happening,” she says with a kind smile. “I’m actually doing this thing where I feel very comfortable because it doesn’t take up a lot of space in my mind because it’s safer and I don’t feel so vulnerable.”
“I only signed for a few movies”: Elizabeth Olson is surprised by her success at Marvel
(Courtesy of Marvel Studios)
However, Olson’s tactics do not seem to be less concerned with the film’s quality, but more with its modesty. “When we were doing the WandaVision press, I was desperate because it was the first show in the Marvel universe. He had this complete fear, and now I feel this pressure again to contact Dr. Strange. I just didn’t have it as part of these ensemble films. ” Olsen admits that this even applies to the examination of the final product. “I’ll see him eventually,” she said.
If these nerves are a worrying trait for someone whose face is currently depicted on posters around the world for a film that will be one of the most lucrative hits of the year, it doesn’t show it. In fact, Olsen has the pleasant demeanor of a man who is clearly at ease with the rules she has established in her life – both personally and professionally – one of which is thanks to her older sisters: “No” is complete sentence.”
This rule has made Olsen feel comfortable refusing certain things she has been asked to do. For example, as noted by her fan base, you will soon not catch Olsen on the stage at the Oscars or Amy. “I don’t like to present awards. I tried and I don’t like it. It’s not worth the faint feeling I get every time. It’s just not worth it. “
Olson says the way she adopted her sisters’ mantra has changed over the years and that when she was younger, she “used it more as a young woman who was always ready for some kind of aggressor.” or something like this”. She smiles, as if persuaded. “I’ve always been firm as such – maybe sometimes by mistake.” What does she mean by that? “I just think maybe I could have massaged things a little differently, or maybe I could have some nuance. But I think it’s important for a young woman to know, to hear, or to be empowered.
Her twin sisters were in vogue in the 1990s, running their own TV shows and movies until 2012, when they announced plans to leave acting so they could focus on their fashion careers. Olson, who is three years younger than them, is watching her teenage siblings find themselves at the center of increased media scrutiny, forcing her to give up acting almost completely.
“I can only benefit from their healthy perspective”: Olson with her sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley
(Getty)
“The media was then what I found to be an abuse of my sisters,” Olson told Nylon in 2011. “They will follow us to shop and [Mary-Kate and Ashley] I almost got into car accidents because of the paparazzi, and I didn’t want to be a part of them.
Fast forward to 2012 While Olson was handing out autographs to fans, a photographer asked her, “How are you so much nicer than your sisters?” In a video that went viral, Olson could be heard answering more politely than he deserved it: “Because you boys have been bothering them all their lives. It was this detrimental attitude towards her sisters – and the admirable way in which they behaved under intense exposure – that has since helped shape her own experience when it comes to working with the press.
I really admire what my sisters have built
Elizabeth Olson
“I think my sisters are some of the most amazing people to look at, with what they’ve created for themselves and how they’re behaving,” Olson said with a look of pride. “I’m really excited about what they’ve built, and I think it comes from having such a healthy perspective – and I can only take advantage of that healthy perspective. I think that informed how I was behaving. “
But despite all the wise advice her sisters gave her, Olson was not always so receptive. “They had so much advice for me, but most things when I was younger, I didn’t do it because I was like,” Olson said in an animated voice. “I’ll do it myself!” You can’t tell me! And then they were right, and I finally did what they told me. But first I had to fail on my own. ”
She is certainly not failing now. But I still wonder how someone feels about her position on the criticism of Marvel in recent years. Most controversially, Martin Scorsese describes MCU films as “closer to theme parks than cinema,” while Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola describes them as “prototypes made over and over and over again to look different.” . Olson says that when people “make them look like a lower art form,” she is disappointed.
“I’m getting a little angry here”: Olson shares his feelings about the reaction Marvel films have received from critics
(Marvel Studios)
“I’m not saying we make indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which annoys me,” she said. “These are some of the most amazing set designers, costume designers, cameramen – I feel like I’m reducing them with this kind of criticism that takes away from all the people who make award-winning films who also work on these projects.
“From the actor’s point of view, whatever it is, I understand it; I fully understand that there is a different kind of performance that is happening. But I think throwing Marvel under the bus takes hundreds of very talented crew members. That’s where I’m starting to get a little angry about it. “
Regarding her future at MCU, Olsen is open to opportunities. “I don’t know how big the plans really are, but I’m against everything, as long as I have a good idea about it,” she said. This includes a possible second stand-alone series focused on Wanda. Olsen also says she is “curious” about how the X-Men will be folded in the future …
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